Highlighted by a number of perennial powerhouses and a series at Bridgestone Arena, the home of the Nashville Predators, in Nashville, the Alabama-Huntsville Charger begins the Chris Luongo era with the toughest schedule in recent history.
“I am very excited about the 2010-11 schedule," noted Luongo. "It is unprecedented in that we play multiple weekends against every league. We will compete against some of the biggest names in college hockey as well as welcome some old friends back to the VBC. Our Student-Athletes will have the most unique experience in NCAA Division I hockey this season."
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Jan. 14th and 15th will see the Chargers take a trek up I-65 to take on Merrimack in the "Music City" at Bridgestone Arena. It marks the first meetings between the Warriors and Chargers since the 1993-94 season.
Awesome! Can't wait to see some NCAA hockey action at The Bridge!
UAH this season will have not one, but two Geoffrion brothers playing for them. So if for no other reason...let's get a good crowd in the arena to support the hometown boys!!!
I hope they sell a ton of tickets, and I hope UAH does well this year. They need a good season since they're spending this season as the only independent Div.I hockey team. A good year could help them get into a new conference next season.
I wonder if the Preds would consider them for camp invites after their 4 years in Alabama?
I would hope so if they haven't positioned themselves to sign a contract elsewhere by then.
I'm sorry, but the NCAA should be ashamed of the treatment of the UAH program. This is a team that has twice in the past three years qualified for the NCAA tournament and was refused membership into two conferences and now are the only DI independent in the sport.
I know I'll get flamed for that statement and that's an oversimplification of the situation, but...for a sport that has seen so many programs fold in the past few years due to budget concerns...why make it so difficult for an established program to keep it's doors open?
Kudos to the school administration for seeing the value in the team and not pulling the plug. I'm fully in support of the UAH Chargers program and hope that playing these games in Nashville opens some eyes to the quality hockey being played down there and leads to not only more attention, but more full houses down in Huntsville...
My pipedream has ALWAYS been SEC in D1 hockey. and the treatment of UAH is pathetic. It's either the coaches are too cowardly to play a southern team and lose (Boise State situation). Or the ADs are too damned cheap and prejudiced to play a southern team.
My pipedream has ALWAYS been SEC in D1 hockey. and the treatment of UAH is pathetic. It's either the coaches are too cowardly to play a southern team and lose (Boise State situation). Or the ADs are too damned cheap and prejudiced to play a southern team.
There is an SEC hockey league in the ACHA with at least 10 schools being represented currently. Arkansas won the SEC tournament last season...
NCAA period and the general fan of the south based on their historical natural will turn to it.
EDIT: To make it Title IX neutral, a woman's team paired with the hockey team.
...makes me wonder how the CCHA gets away with having almost no women's programs. (IIRC the Buckeyes are the only ones...)
Heck, we could take on Alabama. We had Nebraska/Omaha up until quite recently, and we still have Alaska/Fairbanks!
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Remember - when you're a hockey fan, it's not "reckless driving", it's "good forechecking".
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Thanks, Howson, for cleaning up MacLean's toxic waste. Welcome, Kekalainen; let's get good things built!
Seth, would there be any desire on the part of the SEC (and the member schools) to step up to D1 hockey? If so, what would need to happen?
A massive influx of cash and Title IX to be wiped off the books...
Ice Hockey is too expensive to be a mainstream NCAA sport unless a school is willing to have a men's and women's program. Even then, the amount of money handed out to the programs are heavily tilted in favor of women's athletics in the examples I'm aware of due to the fact that Title IX requires total funding of ALL athletics to be equal for men's and women's sports. Due to the extreme cost of football and the lack of a women's equivalent (in terms of a program that has similar costs and student-athletes associated with it), ice hockey is usually one of the first programs to come under scrutiny when schools are looking to cut back on their athletics funding...
...makes me wonder how the CCHA gets away with having almost no women's programs. (IIRC the Buckeyes are the only ones...)
Heck, we could take on Alabama. We had Nebraska/Omaha up until quite recently, and we still have Alaska/Fairbanks!
BINGO!!! The CCHA denied UAH membership and cited travel costs among their concerns. UAH roughly the same mileage as UNO for the school furthest away from both universities...
I think the real reason they were denied was that UAH has beaten a few higher quality opponents in recent years and gave Notre Dame a heck of a series early last season. I think many of the weaker programs in the northern region of the conference didn't want to chance losing to a team from Alabama...
Just my opinion...I'd love to hear some legitimate arguments about this...
BINGO!!! The CCHA denied UAH membership and cited travel costs among their concerns. UAH roughly the same mileage as UNO for the school furthest away from both universities...
I think the real reason they were denied was that UAH has beaten a few higher quality opponents in recent years and gave Notre Dame a heck of a series early last season. I think many of the weaker programs in the northern region of the conference didn't want to chance losing to a team from Alabama...
Just my opinion...I'd love to hear some legitimate arguments about this...
Well, UNO ain't around here no more, so maybe I should get Gordy Gee on the line up here and start kvetching.
If only the SEC schools were sitting on a massive oil well...
True, and that's why it's a pipedream. I think the US will shift to a Juniors system for prospect development. the USHL is looking stronger and stronger each year.
So that makes that Saturday Jan. 15th a day/nite double header with the Preds vs. the Blackhawks that evening. Any word on whether this is a 2 for 1 deal with the Preds or a separately ticketed event?
That schedule looks tough but awesome. Some good home games that will have me and my son making the trek down 65.
Yeah, I have to credit the individual schools around the nation that stepped up and agreed to fit UAH into their conference schedules. They didn't have to do that and I think it showed a great deal of respect for the UAH program in doing so...
So that makes that Saturday Jan. 15th a day/nite double header with the Preds vs. the Blackhawks that evening. Any word on whether this is a 2 for 1 deal with the Preds or a separately ticketed event?
Be cool if they scheduled a High School game at around 10:30 or 11:00 am that day to make it a hockey triple header!!!
I would hope so if they haven't positioned themselves to sign a contract elsewhere by then.
I'm sorry, but the NCAA should be ashamed of the treatment of the UAH program. This is a team that has twice in the past three years qualified for the NCAA tournament and was refused membership into two conferences and now are the only DI independent in the sport.
I know I'll get flamed for that statement and that's an oversimplification of the situation, but...for a sport that has seen so many programs fold in the past few years due to budget concerns...why make it so difficult for an established program to keep it's doors open?
Kudos to the school administration for seeing the value in the team and not pulling the plug. I'm fully in support of the UAH Chargers program and hope that playing these games in Nashville opens some eyes to the quality hockey being played down there and leads to not only more attention, but more full houses down in Huntsville...
Which two? I know their old conference broke apart. It was too spread out! Findlay, Ohio was the closest school, but they dropped men's hockey. Bemidji State is going into the WCHA with U Nebraska-Omaha. They need to find some other southern schools to join a conference. I know Kennesaw State was interested for a time.
